Male tolerance and male-male bonds in a multilevel primate society.

ABSTRACT: Male relationships in most species of mammals generally are characterized by intense intrasexual competition, with little bonding among unrelated individuals. In contrast, human societies are characterized by high levels of cooperation and strong bonds among both related and unrelated males. The emergence of cooperative male-male relationships has been linked to the multilevel structure of traditional human societies. Based on an analysis of the patterns of spatial and social interaction in combination with genetic relatedness data of wild Guinea baboons (Papio papio), we show that this species exhibits a multilevel social organization in which males maintain strong bonds and are highly tolerant of each other. Several "units" of males with their associated females form "parties," which tea

SUBMITTER: Patzelt A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4205614 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature